Data storage systems are arrangements of hardware and software that include one or more storage processors coupled to arrays of non-volatile storage devices, such as magnetic disk drives, electronic flash drives, and/or optical drives, for example. The storage processors service storage requests, typically arriving from host machines (“hosts”), which may, for example, specify files or other data elements to be written, read, created, or deleted. Software running on the storage processors manages incoming storage requests and performs various data processing tasks to organize and secure the data elements stored on the non-volatile storage devices.
It is often desirable to obtain statistical data regarding the operation of a data storage system. For example, a system administrator may need statistical data describing the performance of the data storage system over a preceding period of time, in order to determine whether the data storage system has been providing acceptable performance, and/or to troubleshoot performance problems.